An autopsy report released Monday revealed that the late Crunchy's owner David Milligan had a blood alcohol content level of .17, more than twice the legal limit, when he died in a traffic accident on June 10.
Milligan died when his vehicle struck a tractor-trailer as he traveled the wrong way on U.S. 127. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
"Alcohol was the only thing that he had taken," Ingham County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Dennis Jurczak said.
Jurczak said the cause of death was due to multiple blunt force injuries of the head suffered during the crash in the southbound lanes of the freeway at about 4:30 a.m. Jurczak also said the manner of death was "undetermined."
"Whether this was, in fact, a suicide or it was a purely accidental death, we just can't make that determination," Jurczak said. "There's not enough evidence."
The autopsy also indicated that Milligan "was in the process of divorce and had reportedly attempted suicide approximately one month prior to his death."
Milligan, a Laingsburg resident who would have turned 56 on July 11, weighed about 400 pounds and was 6-foot-1-inch, Jurczak said.
The driver of the tractor-trailer, which was heading southbound, reportedly attempted to avoid Milligan's vehicle near the Bellevue Road exit in Leslie Township on U.S. 127. The bar and restaurant owner's car went under the trailer and hit the rear axle. Milligan was not wearing a seat belt.
Crunchy's, located at 254 W. Grand River Ave., has remained open since the death of its owner of 10 years. Employees of the establishment, who described Milligan as "friendly," said it will continue to remain open for business.
